Uber has become more and more popular in Europe. The ride sharing program is now an alternative to taxi services and most of the important manufacturers are looking for an agreement with the service.

The most recent one is Nissan, which has supplied a fleet of 20 all-electric Nissan Leafs to Uber for use as part of an extensive EV trial in the capital that gets underway today. It is the first time pure EVs have been available for hire through the Uber app in London.

Run in partnership with the Energy Savings Trust (EST), the study will look into the feasibility of running large numbers of electric private hire vehicles in the UK.

The EST will research the experience, driving patterns and economics of private hire drivers using electric cars and the capacity of London’s current network of charging points to support these vehicles.

Already 60 percent of Uber journeys in London are made in hybrid vehicles, but the company is keen to explore the environmental and economic benefits of going fully electric ahead of the introduction of the capital’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone in 2020.

Jo Bertram, Regional General Manager of Uber in the UK, said: ‘People already associate Uber with hybrid cars, but we now want to go a big step further with fully electric cars on the road from today.